Apparatus for melting adhesive



Nov. 28, 1961 J. s. KAMBORIAN 3,011,042

APPARATUS FOR MELTING ADHESIVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 10, 1958 R. m E V W (Tana) J. lawzarl'an FMWW Nov. 28, 1961 J. 5. KAMBORIAN 3,011,042

APPARATUS FOR MELTING ADHESIVE Filed Nov. 10, L958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 1. ,7 Jiavj L5. Iawzorabvz fvziwwm 'heating means.

United States Patent 3,011,042 APPARATUS FOR MELTING ADHESIVE Jacob S. Kamborian, 133 Forest Ave.,

West Newton, Mass. Filed Nov. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 772,998 12 Claims. ((31. 219-19) This invention relates to apparatus for melting adhesive, more especially thermoplastic adhesive, and has for its principal objects to provide apparatus for melting adhesive, a little at a time, as the need for it is indicated, without softening the remainder of the adhesive and to effect the melting in such fashion that the fluid adhesive is protected to a great extent from exposure to the atmosphere prior to its use; to provide an apparatus in which after melting the fluid adhesive is stored within an enclosed heated chamber; to provide an apparatus which 'is so constructed as to make it difficult to introduce or use chunks of adhesive of a different kind except by melting in the manner intended; and to provide apparatu :Which is easy to keep clean.

As herein illustrated, the apparatus comprises means mounting a solid body of adhesive with its longitudinal axis inclined downwardly and with its lower end engaged with a downwardly inclined heating means so that the adhesive melted from the lower end of the body gravitates from the lower side of the heating means, accompanied by gravitation of the body of adhesive toward the Below the heating means, in the path of gravitation of the liquid adhesive, there is situated a hollow chamber containing an opening disposed in a position to permit the liquid adhesive to enter the chamber, the opening being small enough to prevent entrance of extraneous matter and/or solid pieces of adhesive. The mounting means for the adhesive is in the form of an inclined track arranged with its lower end adjacent,

but spaced from the heating means, so that heat from the heating means is not transferred to the track. There is a switch for turning the heating means on and off and means in the hollow chamber operable by the level of the liquid therein to effect operation of the switch. A thermostat is arranged on the face of the heating element for contact with the lower end of the body of adhesive resting thereagainst to control the temperature of the heating element.

right side of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevation to much larger scale of the heating element partly in section, showing engagement of the adhesive therewith and the flow of adhesive from its lower side through the opening into the chamber;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a block of solid adhesive shaped especially to be used with this apparatus; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view of the wiring controlling operation of the heating element. r

The apparatus shown herein is especially designed for use with shoe making machinery where adhesive is required as part of the shoe making operation, however, it

p is to be understood that it can be used wherever there is I a need for thermoplastic adhesive without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawings.(FIG. 1), the apparatus has a hollow base 10, from the lower side of which projects aplurality of bosses 12 forsupporting it in a level posi-' tion on the apparatus with which it is to be used. Ex-

The thermostat 32 will, of

3,011,042 Patented Nov. 28, 1961 tending laterally from one side of the base 10 there is an inclined spout 14, through which the liquid adhesive ber 16 has bolted to its upper side a bracket 18 (FIG 3), the upper part of which is forked to provide spaced diverging arms 20-40, to the upper extremities of which are fastened hollow tubular elements 22-22 with their longitudinal axes inclined downwardly from right to left, as shown in FIG. 1. Preferably the tubes are aluminum or some non-conductive material. An imperforate heating element 24 is also mounted on the upper side of the chamber 16 at the lower ends of the tubes 2222, with the plane of its upper surface 26 inclined downwardly at right angles to the axes of the tubes 22-22 and spaced therefrom. As shown more clearly in FIG. 5, the heating element is secured to the top of the chamber by a screw 28' at its center. A raised boss 30, on the upper surface of the heating element, provides a reinforcement for the head of the screw and has a portion extending laterally therefrom toward one side of the heating element, as shown in FIG. 4, which is bored to receive a thermostat 32. Levelling pins 34- (FIG. 1), are disposed in recess in the top of the chamber which bear against the bottom side of the heating element to hold 7 the latter spaced from the chamber so that there is no transfer of heat from the chamber to the heating element.

The lower side of the heating element is situated close to the top of the chamber (FIG. 1) and there is a small opening 36, through the top of the chamber, through which adhesive gravitating from the lower side of the heating element may flow into the chamber 16. The opening 36 is made small enough so as to discourage any one using the apparatus from trying to place broken chunks of adhesive directly into the chamber 16 without first melting and also to minimize entrance of extraneous matter and the like,,without interfering with free flow of the liquid adhesive into the chamber.

The heating element includes a resistance coil 38 in its base, shown diagrammatically in FIG. 7, andcurrent is supplied thereto by way of a switch 40 (FIG. 1), fastened to the rear side of the chamber 16 to turn the ber through an opening 50 and being'pivotally connected at its outer end between spaced bracket arms 52-52, as shown in FIG. 2, the latter being fastened to the outer wall of the chamber 16. A pin 54 is threaded vertically through the lever 48, to the left of its pivot, so as to bear upon the operating button 56 of the switch 40 and is vertically adjustable so that the switch can be set to operate at a predetermined level of liquid in the chamber 16. Y e

course, maintain the heating element at a constant temperature and is disposed in the boss 30' so as to be in close contact with the liquid adhesive. The chamber 16 and the clframber 10 contain additional heating elements and thermostats to keep the liquid hot within these chambers, the latter being represented at 58 and 60 in FIG. 7.

of a cylinder 62 is supplied, as shown in FIG. 6, which has longitudinally of it a pair of spaced half-circular grooves 64-64 located so that when the block is placed on the upper side of the spaced parallel tubes 22-22 the grooves will engage thetubes and provide bearing surfaces for supporting the block in a downwardly inclined position as shown in FIG. 1, with its lower end resting against the imperforate upper surface 26 of the heating element. While all of the surface 26 is preferably imperforate, it is essentialfor the invention that only the portion of the surface 26 contacted by the lower end of the cylinder 62 be imperforate so that the melted adhesive will flow downwardly along said surface as described below. Preferably the blocks. of the adhesive are cast so that their lengths are approximately the same length as the tubes 22-22. As thus:positioned,rwhen the heating element is energized by a call foradhesive determined by the level of the float .42 in the chamber 16, adhesive at the lower end of the block commences to melt,as shown in FIG. 5, and to flow downwardly along the surface of the heating element to the lower side and drip off through the opening 36 into the chamber 16. ,As the liquid adhesive flows downwardly into the chamber 16 the solid unmelted part of the block above gravitates downwardly on the supporting tubes 22-22, so that there is a constant progressive melting of the block from its lower end as long as the heating element is energized. As soon as the float indicates a suflicient amount of adhesive in the chamber 16 the heating element is shut off and melting terminates.

As can readily be seen by reference to FIG. 1, the block of adhesive is supported by the tubes .2222, substantially, completely exposed to view, except for the end engaged with the heating element, thus it is always visibly apparent to the operator when the apparatus should be replenished by adding a new block of adhesive. Moreover, since the tubes 2222 are of substantially the same length 'as the block, when a given block is partially used up, a new block may be placed on the supporting tubes in tandem relation to the partially used block in readiness for melting.

The use of apparatus of this kind for melting adhesive has a number of advantages, the principal ones of which are that the adhesive is melted only as fast as it is used up, only a small amount of adhesive is melted at any given time, and this is kept fairly well protected from exposure to the atmosphere so that there is not as much loss by reason ofoxidation and that because only a small amount on adhesive is melted the bulk of it remains solid and is not exposed to deterioration. Other advantages are that the apparatus is self-feeding without requiring springs, pressure devices and other similar means for advancing it as it is melted or clamps for holding it in place, which devices are always the source of trouble, that the consumption of the adhesive is wholly visible to the operator so that the supply can be replenished by adding another ,block before the current block is completely used up,

hence avoiding interruption in the supply available for use, and that it is difficult to contaminate the melted adhesive or dilute it with inferior adhesives.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: a

1. Apparatus for melting adhesive, comprising means mounting a solid body of adhesive with its longitudinal axis inclined downwardly and with its lower end engaged with an imperforate surface of a downwardly inclined heating means, so that as the adhesive melts from the lower end of the body the latter gravitates toward the heating means, and the liquid adhesive flows to the low side ofthe heating means and drips ofi, and a hollow con tainer situated below the heating means, said container being closed except for a small opening disposed to receive the drip of liquid adhesive.

2. Apparatus for melting adhesive, comprising means mounting a solid body of adhesive for downward movement along its axis, heating means situated at the lower end of said mounting means having an imperforate surface with which the body has contact, said heating means being inclined downwardly for continuously conducting adhesive melted from the lower end of the body, to permit the body to gravitate as it is melted toward the heating means, and a container closed except for a small opening subjacent the lower side of the heating 'rri'e'ans for receiving the liquid adhesive.

3. Apparatus for melting adhesive, comprising a pair of spaced parallel rods inclined downwardly for supporting between them a solid body of adhesive, heating means adjacent the lower ends of the rods, but spaced therefrom, for melting the end ofthe body of adhesive resting on the rods with its lower end bearing against the heating means, said heating means being downwardly inclined for con- ,tinuously conducting liquid adhesive melted thereby laterally from between the body and the heating means to the lower side of the heating means, and a heated container closed except for a small opening situated subjacent the lower side of the heating means for receiving the adhesive. p

4. Apparatus for melting adhesive, comprising means mounting a pair of spaced parallel, hollow tubes and a heating element with the lower end of the tube spaced from the heating element, said tubes and heating element being adapted collectively to support a solid body of adhesive in an inclined position with its lower end-engaged with the heating element for melting of the adhesive next to the heating element, and continuous drip of the latter from the lower side of the heating element, said mounting means containing a chamber and a small port situated directly below the lower side of the heating element to receive the drip of the adhesive from the lower side of the heating element through which the liquid adhesive has access to the chamber.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein there is, a switch for turning the heating element on andfofi and means in the container operable by the level of the liquid therein to efifect operation of the switch.

'6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein there is a switch for turning the heating element on and ofi and a float in the container operable by the level of the adhesive therein to effect operation ofthe switch.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein there is a thermostat situated in the face of the heating element for contact with the adhesive resting against the heating element for controlling the temperature of the heating element, a switch for turning the heating element on and off, and a float in the container for effecting operation of the switch.

8. Apparatus for supplying adhesive to an applicator comprising a heated reservior for receiving melted adhesive in such quantity as to meet the demand during any one application, a nozzle connected to the reservoir to which adhesive is delivered and from which adhesive is delivered by application of pressure to the reservoir, means for supporting a solid stick of adhesive externally of the reservoir for melting of adhesive from an' end thereof, a receptacle positioned to receive and store the melted adhesive and from which the melted adhesive may flow to the reservoir, said receptacle having an opening through which adhesive is adaptedto flow asit is 7 "for application of work comprising a container having fill and discharge chambers, for holding a body of melted adhesive with sufiicient quantity to meet the demand for any one application, said fill chamber having an opening through which adhesive is supplied to the chamber, and other openings through which adhesive flows therefrom into the discharge chamber to keep the latter filled, a

nozzle connected to the discharge chamber to which adhesive is adapted to be delivered by pressure applied to the adhesive in the discharge chamber, means for supporting a solid stick of adhesive for melting of adhesive from an end so that it flows into the opening in the fill chamber, and means for melting the adhesive from the end of the stick, said means being controlled by the level of the adhesive in the fill chamber.

10. Apparatus for supplying adhesive to an applicator comprising a hollow base for holding a body of melted adhesive in sufficient quantity to meet the demand for any one application, a nozzle connected to the base to which adhesive is adapted to be delivered from the base by the application of pressure to the adhesive in the base, a chamber connected to the base for storing melted adhesive, at least one passageway interconnecting the chamher and the base to allow adhesive to flow from the chamber to the base, heating means positioned above the chamher for progressively melting a stick of adhesive from its 11. Apparatus for melting adhesive comprising a downwardly inclined, imperforate, substantially planar surface, means for heating said surface, and a pair of downwardly inclined rods adapted to support a solid body of adhesive therebetween with its end face bearing against said surface, said rods having axes substantially at right angles to said surface, whereby the adhesive as it is melted by said heating means gravitates freely toward said surface and the melted adhesive drips down said surface.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein a container is positioned below the heating plate and the rods to receive the melted adhesive as it drips from said surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,815,589 Saachy July 21, 1931 2,118,415 Pesark May 24, 1938 2,171,486 Van Fleet Aug. 29, 1939 2,671,529 Hungerford Mar. 9, 1-954 7 2,773,496 Charnecki Dec. 11, 1956 2,809,772 Weisz Oct. 15, 1957 2,868,420 Weisz Jan. 13, 1959 a FOREIGN PATENTS 476,047

Germany May 6, 1929 

